I would guess that your tolerance would return to normal after a while.

I also have a prescription for Xanax, but I'm careful to use it sparingly, like when I can't sleep or when I get overly stressed. I like the way it makes me feel, and I often have a craving for it, so I know that I could get addicted if I let myself.

 

When GABA levels rise (calms you) your brain balances out by raising glutamate (opposite of GABA). Once you build a tolerance you have to once again raise the dose to boost GABA above glutamate to feel the effects.

Once the benzos are removed GABA levels plummet and it can take months for glutamate levels to return to normal, and during this period are withdrawals.


Benzos works on GABA similar to alcohol, which you can also reset your tolerance to. So there is no reason for it to be permanent.

 

When GABA levels rise (calms you) your brain balances out by raising glutamate (opposite of GABA). Once you build a tolerance you have to once again raise the dose to boost GABA above glutamate to feel the effects.

Once the benzos are removed GABA levels plummet and it can take months for glutamate levels to return to normal, and during this period are withdrawals.

Benzos works on GABA similar to alcohol, which you can also reset your tolerance to. So there is no reason for it to be permanent.

Interesting..

Does caffeine affect how benzos work, then?

 

I have stopped taking xanax and then restarted almost two years later, and a low dose started working again. So in my experience, tolerance is not permanent.

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Yes but you stopped taking benzos for 2 years & in your case it was the same medication i.e Xanax.
What I don't understand is if I've devolopped a tolerence to Valium ( my tolerence is sky high cause even if if I take 40mg I feel no effect whatsoever!) how come the other benzo I took ( Prazepam) & the benzo I'm currently taking are not working neither?? And I was taking the maximum dose of Prazepam which is 60mg but it's stopped working. I'm currently taking Ativan & my psychiatriat has been increasing my dose but it's not working neither. I thought if I had built a tolerence to a specific benzo such as valium I wouldn't have a tolerence to other benzos such as Ativan. So I suppose if I've built a tolerence to one benzo I've got a tolerence for all the other benzos too??

When GABA levels rise (calms you) your brain balances out by raising glutamate (opposite of GABA). Once you build a tolerance you have to once again raise the dose to boost GABA above glutamate to feel the effects.

Once the benzos are removed GABA levels plummet and it can take months for glutamate levels to return to normal, and during this period are withdrawals.

Benzos works on GABA similar to alcohol, which you can also reset your tolerance to. So there is no reason for it to be permanent.

Thanks for the info my tolerence levels are sky high atm probably because I've been taking benzos for about a yea. And it's true that whichever benzo I take it has no effect on me at all even at high doses infact I'm feeling the withdrawal symptoms. I used to feel high & relaxed after taking them but now it's the opposite I'm totally stressed out & paranoid/anxious.
It's good to know that the tolerence isn't permanent how long do I have to go without taking benzos before my tolerence goes back to normal. Would a 1 month break be enough for my tolerence level to drop back to normal??

 

Yes, benzos cause cross tolerance, so it won't matter a great deal whether you're on alprazolam, diazepam, oxazepam, lorazepam, any of those "zams".

Tolerance is not always permanent but it can be a long time. Tolerance varies based on the amount you were taking and for how long. In most cases one needs a few weeks or months off, at least; in some cases, withdrawals could last several months. As such, the only real option is to slowly taper off and take a good long holiday.

That is difficult to do without something else going on, so typically in a case like this, one is best served by *not* increasing the benzo dose anymore, but keeping it on board and adding a second medication. If you feel better with that second medication, then the benzo could be tapered off.

GAD often responds to serotonergics, and you have insomnia, so a sedating antidepressant could be an option. For example, clomipramine or paroxetine.

 

Yes, benzos cause cross tolerance, so it won't matter a great deal whether you're on alprazolam, diazepam, oxazepam, lorazepam, any of those "zams".

Tolerance is not always permanent but it can be a long time. Tolerance varies based on the amount you were taking and for how long. In most cases one needs a few weeks or months off, at least; in some cases, withdrawals could last several months. As such, the only real option is to slowly taper off and take a good long holiday.

That is difficult to do without something else going on, so typically in a case like this, one is best served by *not* increasing the benzo dose anymore, but keeping it on board and adding a second medication. If you feel better with that second medication, then the benzo could be tapered off.

GAD often responds to serotonergics, and you have insomnia, so a sedating antidepressant could be an option. For example, clomipramine or paroxetine.

Okay got it so no benzo is gonna work until I take a break for 1 month/6weeks would that be enough??

I'm taking Mirtazapine since January 2014 at first it made me feel high (and I was taking it on it's own) but obviously any med whether it's an anti depressant or a benzo stops working after awhile. But I've tried lots of anti-depressents( Sertaline,Citaliopram,Effexor) none of them worked. Mirtazapine is the anti depressent the most sedating I've ever took. And it helps me sleep too. Is Clomipramine or Paroxetine more sedading then Mirtazapine??

There are studies showing that you can prevent tolerance to the sedative, but not to the anxiolytic effects of benzos by taking memantine. You can find some anecdotal reports of people using memantine sucessfully to reduce tolerance to anxiolytic effects though. Another option worth trying is BPC-157: study

I'll have to ask my psychiatrist for memantine the next time I see him. Can I take Memantine together with a benzo ( Prazepam or Ativan) & an anti depressant(Mirtazapine)??

You should take pregnenolone if you want to quit benzos. Also, pregnenolone can eliminate social anxiety. Works like a benzo through GABA-A receptor.

Is pregnenolone more effective than benzos?? Do they make you feel more sedated/high??

 

There are studies showing that you can prevent tolerance to the sedative, but not to the anxiolytic effects of benzos by taking memantine. You can find some anecdotal reports of people using memantine sucessfully to reduce tolerance to anxiolytic effects though. Another option worth trying is BPC-157: study

 

You should take pregnenolone if you want to quit benzos. Also, pregnenolone can eliminate social anxiety. Works like a benzo through GABA-A receptor.